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Jamelle Bouie

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The Economist sees a surprising success in last year's auto bail-out: Lovers of free markets (including The Economist) feared that Mr Obama might use GM as a political tool: perhaps favouring the unions who donate to Democrats or forcing the firm to build smaller, greener cars than consumers want to buy. The label “Government Motors” quickly stuck, evoking images of clunky committee-built cars that burned banknotes instead of petrol—all run by what Sarah Palin might call the socialist-in-chief. [...] But by and large Mr Obama has not used his stakes in GM and Chrysler for political ends. On the contrary, his goal has been to restore both firms to health and then get out as quickly as possible. GM is now profitable again and Chrysler, managed by Fiat, is making progress. Taxpayers might even turn a profit when GM is sold. The post ends on a smart note, "The lesson for American voters is that their president, for all his flaws, has no desire to own the commanding heights of industry."...

David Broder likes Mitch Daniels : Back in Washington, the luxury of having a thoughtful presidential contender was striking for everyone hearing Daniels. The onetime Reagan White House political director and Bush White House budget chief is not your run-of-the-mill intellectual. His style is to be down-home, but his record of accomplishment is dazzling. As does David Brooks : Flamboyant performers like Sarah Palin get all the attention, but the governing soul of the party is to be found in statehouses where a loose confederation of über-wonks have become militant budget balancers. Just as welfare reformers of the 1990s presaged compassionate conservatism, so the austerity brigades presage the national party’s next chapter. Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana who I think is most likely to win the G.O.P. presidential nomination in 2012, is the spiritual leader. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is the rising star. Jeb Bush is the eminence. Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Rob...

The election is in a few weeks, and Democrats are scrambling to boost African American turnout: Without Mr. Obama atop the ticket this year, Mr. Kissell and a number of other vulnerable Democrats, mostly in the rural South, face the challenge of reviving the spirit of 2008 for black voters without alienating right-leaning white majorities in their districts. [...] Among the endangered Democrats counting on a substantial black turnout are Representatives Bobby Bright of Alabama, Allen Boyd of Florida, Sanford D. Bishop Jr. and Jim Marshall of Georgia, Frank Kratovil Jr. of Maryland, Travis W. Childers of Mississippi, Steve Driehaus and Betty Sutton of Ohio, John M. Spratt Jr. of South Carolina, Chet Edwards of Texas, and Glenn Nye and Tom Perriello of Virginia. I'm a little amused by this. Despite representing large numbers of black people -- an average of 25.4 percent -- these lawmakers have consistently voted against President Obama's major initiatives. With the sole exception of Rep...

Yesterday saw a federal hate-crimes conviction in Scranton, Pennsylvania: Two men on trial in a Pennsylvania federal court in connection with the beating death of an undocumented Mexican immigrant have been found guilty on all counts, including hate crimes. [...] "Four people attacked one person because of his race and because they didn't want people like him living in their town," prosecutor Myesha K. Braden said during her closing argument. Witnesses testified that racist language was used before and during the attack and that Ramirez was kicked in the head repeatedly after falling down. The defendants, they said, didn't want immigrants in their neighborhood and repeatedly ordered Ramirez to leave. A few nights ago, I was watching The West Wing 's season one Christmas episode, In Excelsis Deo . It's an excellent 45 minutes of television -- one of the best episodes of the season -- but it does feature a really terrible plot line about the Matthew Shepherd -style killing of a gay...